In the Bleak Midwinter
by despommes
Summary: In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan. Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone. Snow had fallen snow on snow, snow on snow—in the bleak midwinter, long, long ago.


Hello, and merry Christmas! I bet none of you knew that I used to be in choir. Well, I quit, but before I did I got the chance to sing this piece of music called In the Bleak Midwinter. I never did sing it in our Christmas concert, but I did practice it and it was one of the prettiest songs I've ever heard. It gave me the idea for this fic.

Summary: In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan. Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone. Snow had fallen snow on snow, snow on snow—in the bleak midwinter, long, long ago.

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Suzaku hadn't been in a church in years.

Nunnally's hand reached behind her to find his fingers on the handlebar of her wheelchair. Behind Zero's mask, he smiled at the touch. "Thank you for coming," she whispered. "This means a lot to me."

He squeezed her hand in return and continued to wheel her into the cathedral.

Lelouch used to take her to midnight mass every Christmas Eve. Now it was Suzaku's turn.

There were hundreds of candles. They lined the aisles, circled the altar, even hung from the ceiling. Christmas garlands, wreaths, and ribbons decorated the banisters and pews. It was beautiful to Suzaku, who had only celebrated Christmas thrice in his life. The soft glow of the church captivated him.

He and Nunnally took their seats in the pews. In the row behind them, Princess Cornelia and Prince Schneizel sat silently, flipping through the hymn books. Nunnally was the only reason they had agreed to come. She had asked for a Christmas they could spend together, as a family.

As the midnight hour approached, the cathedral grew silent. A priest approached the altar. A bible lay open in his hand, and he began to read. Suzaku listened to the story of the first Christmas night, some of it familiar to him. He hadn't grown up in the Catholic faith, like Nunnally's family, and he didn't believe in whatever the bible said, but he could not deny that it interested him. The story of Christmas captivated him on this night just like it did when Lelouch first told him about it all those years ago.

The priest closed his bible. He asked them to stand, and while Nunnally remained sitting, Suzaku stood beside her, hand on her shoulder. Everyone in the chapel opened their hymn books to the same page. The room grew silent.

"_In the bleak midwinter,_

_Frosty wind made moan._

_Earth stood hard as iron;_

_Water like a stone._"

The choir started the hymn, their voices echoing through the room and all around them. Suzaku read the words as they were sung.

"_Snow had fallen, snow on snow,_

_ Snow on snow._

_ In the bleak midwinter,_

_ Long, long ago._"

He took a deep breath, and the whole cathedral erupted into a chorus of voices.

"_Our God, Heav'n cannot hold Him,_

_ Nor Earth sustain._

_ Heav'n and Earth shall flee away,_

_ When He comes to rein._"

He was surprised to hear Nunnally's soft voice beside him amongst all the others. He did his best not to cover her up.

As he sang, his eyes looked up to search the crowd. A girl, with familiar auburn hair and olive eyes, smiled at him kindly. Her mouth moved with the hymn, but her eyes were on him, and suddenly, he found it very hard to sing.

"_In the bleak midwinter,_

_ A stable-place sufficed,_

_ The Lord God Almighty,_

_ Jesus Christ._"

All the female voices dropped out, and all that was left were masculine parts.

"_Angels and archangels_

_ May have gathered there._

_ Cherubim and seraphim,_

_ Thronged the air._"

Again, he looked up and saw, in the pew across from them, a small, mousy boy with deep lilac eyes focused intensely on the hymn book. His breath froze in his chest at the second ghost, and the boy quickly looked up to glance at him and give him a tiny smile. Suzaku quickly looked away, instead listening to Nunnally's voice.

"_But only his mother,_

_ In her maiden bliss,_

_ Worshipped the belov-ed_

_ With a kiss._"

This time, when he looked up, tears gathered in his eyes. He could hear her gentle voice and just as he suspected, he found Euphie's smile on him. She gazed at him while she sang. Her loving eyes found his somewhere beneath the mask, and he felt at peace.

The choir's voices carried the next part.

"_What can I give him?_

_ Poor as I am._"

Then the whole mass joined again.

"_If I were a shepherd,_

_ I would bring a lamb._"

His saw, in the choir, a young man, skin fair as the snow outside and hair dark like the winter night. Suzaku's voice softened until he was no longer singing—simply staring at the face in the crowd in disbelief and longing.

"_If I were a wise man,_

_ I would do my part._

_Yet, what I can, I give him,_"

The boy looked at him, and his gemstone gaze sent tears coursing down Suzaku's face.

"_Give my heart._"

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I hope you all enjoyed this little Christmas piece, and I hope you have a wonderful merry Christmas and get everything you asked for! Please, leave me a review and enjoy your lovely holiday!


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